This Is My Way: Esmée's Story

Personal trainer, motivational speaker and presenter, Esmée is a force to be reckoned with.

Esmée’s life has been a sequence of leaped hurdles. At eighteen, and a promising dancer, a simple surgery went terribly wrong. Esmée was left paralysed from the waist down and without short term memory. She was told she would never walk again but determination and gruelling physiotherapy proved the doctors wrong. Now her accomplishments speak for themselves. Esmée is renowned as one of London’s best physical trainers. She has told her inspirational story at TEDx conferences and continues to motivate others to achieve their personal goals.

Why Esmée?

Esmée's confidence and self-belief are inspiring. She encapsulates the grit needed to overcome personal setbacks in working towards a goal. We see Esmée going further yet – nothing will stand in her way! Esmée’s confidence and self-belief are inspiring. She encapsulates the grit needed to overcome personal setbacks in working towards a goal. We see Esmée going further yet – nothing will stand in her way!

Neil used to be a bookworm, an "indoor" type if ever there was one. After finishing a PhD he writes short stories about spooky places and odd people. Living in Switzerland, the Canadian Rockies and the north east region of the USA convinced him that there was something to be said for this whole outdoor thing. Now he runs everywhere he can, competing in races most weekends and endlessly planning the next great adventure to some far flung part of the world. Recent trips include Costa Rica, where he tried and failed to surf; Vietnam, where he almost got stuck in an underground tunnel; and back to Canada, where he came face-to-face with a bear. Watch this space for further updates on Neil's global bumblings and the occasional athletic success.

Related article

Helping young people scale an unforgiving landscape of rock and rubble in the North African heat; if that already sounds tough then imagine that none of them have any climbing experience. This was the challenge facing Blacks' own Chris Starkie this summer. Read more15-12-18 • Neil McRobert